Jo Rzymowska, vice president and managing director, Celebrity Cruises

With a team of over 100 people dedicated to Celebrity Cruises, Rzymowska oversees sales, marketing, revenue and customer service functions in the UK and Ireland, the second largest global market for the cruise line. Jo also oversees its expanding operations in Asia.

In 2011, Jo was awarded an Honorary Professorship at the University of West London and in 2012, she was presented with an award by the Association of Cruise Experts for an Outstanding Contribution to Cruise. At the 2017 Travel Weekly Globe Awards, Jo was recognised for her contribution to the travel industry with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Jo is ranked inside the top half of the Executive Diversity Top 100 - a listing of the UK’s most influential LGBT business executives - as complied by OUTstanding and the Financial Times.

Top tips

Career progression: Take risks and believe in yourself when a new situation might feel uncomfortable.

Leadership: Set examples to those around you, and give everyone an opportunity to flourish – especially those who might shy away from the limelight.

Resilience: Have people around you that you can trust and talk to when the going is tough. And have a decent escape from work that will clear your head when you need it most. Sometimes walking the dog leads to the best business decisions for me.

Communication: There is no such thing as over communication.

Networking: Listen to and learn from the people you meet. There are so many inspiring people who can help you grow or aid you to see things differently. They don’t have to be from the same sector, but the right new connections will always bring powerful and relevant experience.

Personal Brand: Ensure your passions and values are reflected in all that you do – not just around a boardroom table. And have fun, no one will approach you with the next new brilliant idea if they don’t think you’d be fun to deliver it with.

Best piece of advice you have been given

Keep listening. You can always learn something from others around you – and you never know where the next person to inspire you will come from.